First time voting

I was expecting my constituency to be a walkover but surprisingly the SDA is contesting. This means I get to vote and it’s my first time! Exciting! Haha. Well, it’s good to see many Singaporeans being able to vote instead of previous elections where most Singaporeans need not vote. I am sure there would be a fight, with Hougang and Potong Pasir having the toughest battle. Wow. That said, I do hope Mr Chiam See Tong of Potong Pasir (SDA), Mr Low Thia Khiang of Hougang (WP) and Mr Steve Chia (I am not sure which constituency he belongs to, forgive my political apathy), will win. I feel that they are worthy opponents to the PAP. I guess it’s all right to have a minority opposition who are good and will not confront the government just for the sake of opposing.

However, the people’s support for Mr Chiam See Tong is declining and he is getting on with age. I do think he has sat for 5 terms in Potong Pasir and done good during his terms. He’s the kind who does not oppose for the sake of opposing but I do feel he has great knowledge as a veteran politican who deliberates his moves with caution. Singaporeans may just vote for PAP as the dangled carrot of lift upgrading and perhaps estate upgrading is too much to ignore for realistic, practical and materialistic Singaporeans.

Mr Low Thia Khiang is all right and I believe he has done good for Hougang too. He’s quite candid and has a tinge of humour, especially in the way he speaks, but he is not like Mr Chee, who seems to go for hard ball tackles with the PAP. I hope he wins too.

The Workers’ Party (WP) is also in Aljunied and the candidates are quite strong under Sylvia Lim’s leadership. If they win, it’s good but even if they lose, a good margin would show that the people of Singapore want their voices to be heard, that they want an alternative. Other than that, most opposition candidates are too new, too foreign a face to me to warrant much attention.

As for me, I am still undecided as Mr Teo Chee Hean is heading my area. I do like him, he’s like Mr Goh Chok Tong, affable and humble and not to mention that they are both tall giants. I do think he will win, yet for me the underdog beckons. And beckons.